John v



(No Model.)

J. V. LEWELLEN.

BALL BEARING OAR LOCK.

No. 581,214. l PatentedApr. zo, 1897.

il mi l L, U

UNITED STATES ATnNT Fries.

JOHN V. LEVVELLEN, OF CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BALL-BEARING OAR-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,214, dated April20, 1897.

APPUMFOH led September 18, 1896. Serial No. 606,235. (No model.)

To LZZ whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that l, JOHN V. LEWELLEN, residing at California, in thecounty of fashington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Ball-Bearing Oar- Lock, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates generally to oarlocks, and more particularly toan oar-lock adapted to be applied to a racing-boat, the objects being toreduce the friction and also provide an oar-lock which Will hold the oarin its proper position both while feathering and pulling.

With these various object-s in view my invention consists, essentially,in constructing the oar-lock with ball-bearings, whereby the oar can beproperly swung back and forth; and my invention consists also inconstructing the lock proper with a groove having a flat face at therear side, providing` the oar sleeve or thimble with a flange having afiat face at one side adapted to engage the flat face of the groove whenthe oar is being pulled through the water.

The invention consists also in certain details of construction andnovelties of combination, all of which will be fully describedhereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this speciication, Figure l is a viewshowing the portion of a boat with my improved Oar-lock applied thereto.Fig. 2 is a detail view of the Oar-lock attached to the Outrigger, aportion of the casing being broken away to expose the ball-bearings.Fig. 3 is a top plan view, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4i of Fig. 2.

In carrying out my invention I employ any desired construction ofOutrigger A, which carries the screw B, by means of which the Oar-lockis applied to the Outrigger. The screw B is formed with an upper orlarger portion B and the lower or reduced portion B2, said lower orreduced portion being screwed into the Outrigger and by means of whichthe oar-lock is adjusted vertically as desired. Arranged about the upperportion of the screw is a circular case O, said case having a removablebottom D and removable top E, which are screwed upon the upper portion Band closely t within the circular case O, said case having a centralinterior annular flange F, the upper and lower faces of which aregrooved, as shown at G, and the upper and lower faces of the top andbottom plates are also grooved, as shown at H, thereby providing anannular cavity in which the antifriction-balls I are arranged, so thatas the case is vibrated during the operation of rowing the friction willbe materially reduced by the use of these antifriction-balls, it beingof course understood that the top E and bottom D remainv stationary withthe screw B and that the case O turns back and forth thereon.

The case O is formed with the upwardlyprojecting yoke-arms K, betweenwhich is pivoted the lock proper, I., said lock consisting of theelliptical-shaped ring M, hinged between the arms K by means of thebolts M', said elliptical-shaped ring having ahingesection M2, adaptedtoswing Open to receive the oar and its sleeve or thimble N, the hingeportion M2 being locked to the fixed portion by means of a pin M2.

The thimble N is formed of metal and is rigidly attached to the oar inany suitable manner. This thimble is provided with an annular flange O,said flange being cut Off at one side, as most clearly shown at OQ andan elliptical-shaped ring, together with the hinge-section, isconstructed with a groove P, adapted to receive the iiange O, but at therear side this groove is iilled up or cutl short, 'as most clearly shownat P.

Now in operation the hinge-section M2 is thrown open and the oar, withits thimble, inserted into the elliptical ring, the flange O beingplaced in the groove P, and the section M2 is then turned down andlocked by means of the pin M3. l

In rowing vthe' oar is turned so as to bring the flat portion O at thebottom during the operation of feathering, but when it is desired to dipthe blade into the water the oar is turned suiiciently to bring the flatportion O' into contact with the flat portion P', thereby insuring afiat bearing-surface during the stroke and holding the blade in theproper position` during the entire stroke, thereby preventing the bladeof the oar dipping too low.

The elliptical ring rocks freely back and forth between the yoke-arms Kand the entire oar-lock swings freely about the boat B,

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inasmuch as the easing is provided with antifriction ball-bearings.

It will thus be seen that I provide an exceedingly cheap and simpleconstruction of' oar-lock-one that is strong and durable, one that willreduce the friction to a minimum, and one that will hold the oar in theproper positions during the operations of feathering and pulling.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an oar-lock, the combination with the pivotal bolt, the casingsurrounding the same and provided with ball-bearings, said casingcarrying the yoke-arms for supporting the ear-lock, substantially asshown and described.

2. In an oar-lock, the combination with the pivotal bolt, of thesurrounding` case adapted to turn about the said bolt, the fixed top andbottom, the ball-bearings contained within the case and adapted to bearagainst the top and bottom of the case, and the oar-lock supported bythesaid case, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an oar-lock of the kind described, the combination of the pivotalbolt, of the movable case, the fixed top and bottom, said movable casehaving an interior annular flange, the ball-bearings arranged betweenthe said annular flange, and the top and bottom of the case, thesupporting-arms, and the lock proper pivoted between the saidsupportingarins, substantially as shown and described.

i. In an oar-lock, the combination with the supporting-arms, of theelliptical ring pivoted therebetween, said ring having a hingesection,and the thimble having an annular flange, the elliptical ring having agroove adapted to receive the annular flange, substantially as shown anddescribed.

5. In an ear-lock, the combination with the supporting-arms, of theelliptical ring pivoted therebetween, having a hinge-section, said.elliptical ring having a central groove, said groove being filled up ormade flat at the rear end, the oar thimble or sleeve havin g an exteriorannular flange, said flange being cut oft or made fiat at one side,substantially as shown and described.

G. In an oar-lock, the combination with the pivot-bolt of thesurrounding case having an interior annular flange, the top and bottomofthe case secured upon the bolt, the antifrictien-balls arrangedbetween the top and bottom, and the interior annular flange, theyoke-arms extending` upward from the case, the elliptical ring pivotedbetween the said yoke-arms, said elliptical ring having a hingesectionand provided with a central groove, said groeve being filled out orflattened at one end, the oar thimble or sleeve having anv exteriorannular flange, said flange being cut off or made flat at one side,substantially as shown and described.

JOHN V. IAEWEIL iN. lVitnesses:

J'. l). Su \LLENnEnenn, II. C. SHAnFEl-i.

